Thanks to a $100,000 state grant, the Sanitation Division is looking for neighborhoods that want to participate in a rollout recycling pilot project. Residents will have free use of a large, 96-gallon rollout cart for all their recyclables – no sorting or separation needed! The carts offer greater convenience and save time, because they only need to be put it out every other week. The lid keeps recyclables dry and protects residents’ privacy.

The city will benefit by not having to collect recycling every week. Recycling trucks will use less fuel and the automated equipment will collect faster than manual collection with the green bins. This means less pollution and greenhouse-gas emissions.

The program will be open for only 1,800 homes, and neighborhoods must have 85 percent participation to qualify. To nominate your neighborhood for the pilot program, call City Link at 727-8000.

Stop by the city booth at the Earth Day Fair on April 17 and say hello!

There will be lots of information for you, from several city departments.

Bulky Item Collection Has Started

The city’s annual bulky item pick-up is underway. Through August, city crews are going through the city, street by street, collecting bulky items that garbage crews cannot accept. Furniture, mattresses, appliances, furniture, grills, carpet, old toys, and lawn furniture can all be set out.

But there are limits: The city cannot collect building materials, hazardous waste, tires, cement, cars and car parts, stumps, tanks and oil drums, fire wood, or yard waste. City crews will visit each neighborhood only once.

The Sanitation Division will mail post cards in advance to let homeowners know when bulky item collection will be held in their neighborhood. You can also go to the lookup page to find out when your house is scheduled for bulky item collection, or call CityLink at 727-8000.

Bulky item collection is for single-family residences, not businesses or apartments.

Three “Big Belly" trash cans –- so named for their large trash capacity -- have been installed downtown as a pilot project to see how much money they save. The cans are only slightly larger than the ornamental cans placed downtown. But the Big Bellies have a built-in trash compacter that allows them to hold up to five times as much trash as a conventional trash can. The battery-powered compactor is charged by a solar panel built into the top of the can.

The Big Belly in front of the Benton Convention Center was donated by Waste Management of the Triad and includes a recycling unit that accepts bottles, paper, and cans. It even e-mails the city Sanitation Department when it needs to be emptied!

With their larger capacity, the Big Bellies do not need to be emptied as often, which saves manpower and fuel and reduces truck emissions. The bottom line: The Big Belly could save the city thousands of dollars in operational costs over its lifetime.

The city’s voluntary curbside collection program continues to grow. Households that participate receive free use of a sturdy, 96-gallon roll-out cart that’s big enough to hold 10 bags of garbage. The cart is yours to use at no charge for as long as you participate in the city’s curbside collection program.

To get a curbside roll-out cart or for more information, call City Link at 727-8000.

Encouraging News in National Recycling and Waste-Generation

2008 statistics compiled by the Environmental Protection Agency show a reduction in the amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) generated and in the amount of garbage generated per person.

2008 represented the first time that the amount of garbage generated in the United States dropped from the previous year. The amount of garbage generated per person also dropped, to a level last seen in 1990.

The drop in total waste led to a reduction in the amount of recycling, but the percentage of waste recycled remained the same. Disposal of waste in landfills has decreased from 89 percent of the amount of waste generated in 1980 to 54 percent in 2008.

Easter (observed Friday, April 2): Garbage collections scheduled for Friday, April 2, will be held Monday, April 5. All other garbage collections the week of March 29, as well as yard-waste and curbside recycling collections, will not be affected.

CORRECTION: Memorial Day (observed Monday, May 31): All yard-waste and curbside recycling collections the week of May 31 will be postponed one day: Monday on Tuesday, Tuesday on Wednesday, etc. There will be no change in garbage collections.

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